The Uncommon Programmer

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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

I don't want anybody to get the wrong idea. I still think these guys have an amazing product in the works, one which definitely has the potential to be a game changer. But a number of factors have pushed me to hold off on putting down money on this. Rather than rehashing exactly what those factors are, let me just post my conversation with Meta on the matter:

META: Thanks for stopping by! Can I help you with anything?
MATT: hi!yes, first, I love the new sitevery niceand secondI'm one of those preorders, but I understood when I ordered it in september that they would be delivered in decemberis that no longer the case?META: You mean meta1?
MATT: yep

META: Meta1 will be shipped at March 2014
MATT: so nothing will be shipped before that?META: NO.
MATT: and those people who pre-order now, they're not preordering meta1?also, what is this high power pocket computer? Is this something that comes with the meta 1?META: Not coming with meta1only comes with meta pro.ultra thin see through optics 40 degrees field of view, for both displays, aligned for stereoscopic 3D 720p HD, for each display fully customizable prescription Highfidelity 3D surround earphones The most versatile sensor array: Infra-red time of flight real time 3D scanner Dual RGB(video/photo) Sensors 9-axis tracking(accelerometer, gyroscope, compass) Dual Microphones The most powerful wearable computer: i5 CPU 4GB RAM 128GB Storage WiFi 802.11n Bluetooth 4.0 32WHr battery .
MATT: i see... Also, is the meta 1 23 degrees fov total, or each eye?META: no, for both eyes.
MATT: so google glass is 15 degrees fov, and meta 1 is 23i'd like to cancel my preorder, if that's alrightto whom should i send my information? or could i just tell you and you do itMETA: Can I ask the reason you want to cancel your pre-order?
MATT: sure. first, i should say i really think you guys have an amazing product in the worksand i hope down the line, i'll be picking one upbut i think there's a definite lack of communication going onobviously you guys are extremely busybut it's leading to a lot of speculationand one thing i don't want is to pay nearly 700$ for something i thought was differentMETA: lack of communication means...?
MATT: no updates, or very irregular onesno sdkno response to emails for weeksno forumMETA: I am sorry about that.
MATT: i mean, there's no real way to get good informatioinit's not your faultMETA: we are busy on SDK
MATT: i think everybody understands thatMETA: we will release SDK on March 2014
MATT: and i'll use it thenbut not with the glassesi mean, here's the other thingbefore the dev kit is even created you guys have the next versionand i definitely don't want to buy a crappy version when what is being invested in is version 2take the oculus riftthey pushed out that nice dev kitvery goodand once they were nearly done with that, they started working on the consumer version/dev kit 2dev kit 2 will be out soon, and with nearly all the features of the consumer versionMETA: we use the same sdk on meta1 and meta pro
MATT: but aside from the drastically different fov and the hd quality, and the look and feel, is there anything else missing from meta 1?i wouldn't want to have a dev kit that is missing a bunch of sensorsand camera featuresand the other thing. is $3,000 the price you guys are aiming for for the consumer version?if that's the case, it's not what I was signing up fori wanted to develop for something that undercuts glass, not overshoots itMETA: meta1 is for developer without wearable pcmetaPro is an ultra high end early adopter device with shipping finished applications. The developer edition is an early release of meta1 for developers to start building apps with the most advanced augmented reality hardware as soon as possible. Key differences are a much large FOV, much lighter weight product, much broader array of sensors providing enhanced synchronization between digital content and the real world and a distilled sensor capability allowing us to deliver an even more ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing design.
MATT: i agree, it looks greatbut is that the price you'll be selling it to the masses for?if so, I'd like to cancel my preorderMETA: no
MATT: :) no?META: final product will have different version let people to choose.one of them is sell glasses without wareable pc
MATT: how much would that cost?you see, the cost is VERY MUCH a factor herei don't want to invest in programming for a device which might not reach the number of people i am hoping forso the question is, how much less is the non-wearable pc version?and when would that be available?META: I can't tell you the actual price, but our goal is to sell final product at least the same price as meta1 or lower
MATT: what is the target date for the final product?META: still working on it , meta pro will release at Jun 2014, after that, is final product.
MATT: i'm afraid i still think i'd like to cancel. Again, no fault of yours. You've answered everything i asked, and i think the potential is there for a great final product. But i want to see how things proceed over the next... say, 9 months before putting money in on thisi think there will be serious changes to the product that i will be developing for, and i don't really see a need to start my testing on the earliest versionMETA: To cancel your request, You can send an email to contact@meta-view.com.
MATT: k, will do. I really hope that you guys succeed with this. it looks amazingMETA: Thanks. I hope we will be able to remove your doubts and make a product that surpasses your expectations.
MATT: that would be great. good luck